(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for monitoring waterways and, more specifically, to a system comprising a plurality of underwater communication networks and sensors linked to a common database for monitoring surface and subsurface water traffic through harbors, shore areas, straights, and the like.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The Meridian World database contains listings of 9,597 worldwide harbors and ports. About 6-billion tons of sea-borne cargo is delivered annually to nearly 10,000 ports and harbors throughout the world. More than three-fifths of the world's oil trade moves by sea. In the United States alone, approximately 50,000 ships, each having a capacity in excess of 300 tons, call on roughly 360 United States ports every year. With more than 95,000 miles of open shoreline and 25,000 miles of navigable waterways, the United States is faced with a formidable undertaking in order to secure its water assets. For instance, there presently exists no practical system capable of monitoring the subsurface of thousands of transport hulls as the transports enter ports and waterways to determine if it might have been altered in between ports to carry explosives or weapons of mass destruction.
Any threat to sea-borne trade must be considered a serious attempt to adversely affect the world economy. In early October 2002, A French VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) chartered by Malaysian state oil company Petronas was attacked by terrorist suicide bombers off the coast of Yemen. The VLCC, known as the LIMBURG, was seriously damaged in the attack and one crewmember was killed.
Following the attack, al-Queda issued a statement which warned that the attack on the Limburg, “was not an incidental strike at a passing tanker but . . . on the international oil-carrying line in the full sense of the word.”
A significant portion of all world-wide sea-borne trade moves through a few critical maritime choke points where mines or other interference could have a serious negative impact on the world economy. These critical choke points offer terrorists an opportunity to have a large world economic impact by targeting a very small area.
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow sea passage between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula that links the Indian and Pacific Oceans, which is only 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point. It is the shortest sea route between three of the world's most populous countries, India, China, and Indonesia, and is considered to be the key choke point in Asia. More than 50,000 vessels transit the Strait each year. The VLCCs inch their way through the strait with barely a meter or two of clearance above the bottom.
The strait has been described as a perfect place for an ambush. In October 2002 terrorists bombed a nightclub on the Indonesian Island of Bali. The incident raised concerns that the Strait may also be a target. There are reports that Singapore and Malaysia have begun escorting the VLCCs and have increased naval patrols in the straight. However, this is only a small step toward eliminating the threat of terrorism in the region.
If the strait were closed, world-wide freight rates would immediately rise and all excess capacity of the world fleet would likely be absorbed.
The Bosporus strait, located in Turkey, is one of the world's busiest shipping channels. More than 50,000 vessels annually transit the 17-mile long waterway that divides Asia from Europe and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. The sea-borne traffic includes approximately 15 Oil Tankers/Day moving 2-million barrels/day of crude through the strait to Western and Southern European markets.
Only one-half mile wide at the narrowest point, the Turkish straits offer another terrorist opportunity to have a major impact on the world economy.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is by far the world's most important oil chokepoint. The tanker traffic through the Straight carries more than 13-million barrels/day of crude to the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. Inbound and outbound sea-borne traffic are confined to 2-mile wide channels separated by a 2-mile wide buffer zone.
Although the six-mile wide corridor provides a more challenging terrorist target, mining the channel with remotely controlled devices could be accomplished by a small force over a period of time. The days or weeks necessary to clear the mines and insure safe passage after such an event would result in a major shortage of energy and may precipitate a world-wide economic crisis.
The Gould Island Acoustic Communication and Tracking Range (GIATR) has been in operation for several years along Narragansett-Bay. GIATR provides a test facility for acoustic communications research and development with unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV). As well, a variety of sensors monitor environmental conditions in the Bay to provide data to build a historical database, which can be used for tracking changes that may be of interest. GIATR comprises nodes with acoustic transducers and acoustic arrays which are hardwired to shore power and provide Ethernet quality fiber-optic communications paths that link to the land. The equipment attached to a node can use up to 500 Watts of primary power and can link to topside equipment, or a surface network, over a high-speed fiber connection.
Acoustic communications (ACOMMS) coherent-modem development work of Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) professionals Dr. Josko Catipovic and Dr. Daniel Nagel is extensively reported in available literature.
While the ocean is a complex and difficult signal transmissions environment, coherent ACOMMS experiments using GIATR and other ranges have consistently demonstrated that a data rate-distance product of 100 kbit at a distance of one km is achievable using coherent ACOMMS modems developed at NUWC.
Another NUWC professional, Dr. Francis Chan, has developed a database management system that allows querying a database of more than 10,000 surface ships on the basis of observable attributes.
The above cited prior art does not provide a system that may be used for continuously and automatically monitoring and identifying thousands of surface and subsea water traffic. As an example only, the prior art does not provide a means for automatically producing a signature for each transport, including the subsurface features, for identification in any of the thousands of ports, littoral areas, coastal lines, and other waterways through which it may travel.
The solutions to the above-described problems are highly desirable but have never been obtained or available in the prior art. Consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate the present invention that addresses the above and other problems.